Michigan Trout Unlimited reels in grant

Monday

Apr 1, 2013 at 10:11 PMApr 1, 2013 at 10:16 PM

$53,000 slated for Prairie Creek improvements

Karen Botakaren.bota@sentinel-standard.com

Prairie Creek, a small body of water along the eastern edge of Ionia that flows into the Grand River, has captured the attention of a statewide conservation group that has secured a grant to improve the environment for the fish that live in it.

Michigan Trout Unlimited received a $53,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Fish Passage Program to refashion the creek downstream from the dam under the Main Street bridge so that fish can make it upstream past the dam, as well as fix a hole from erosion the group noticed under one of the bridge abutments.

The group will host a public information meeting about both the creek and the project at 6 p.m. on April 16 at the Ionia Township Hall, 1042 E. Washington St.

Michigan Trout Unlimited works to protect and restore the state's watersheds that are home to wild trout and salmon. Executive Director Bryan Burroughs said his group became interested in Prairie Creek because it is "a unique tributary," and home to a host of mostly cold-water fish, such as catfish, walleye, bass, coho salmon and brown and steelhead trout.

"There is still a lot of cold water – not as cold as it used to be because agriculture and irrigation have warmed the water – but it's still cold," said Burroughs. "For mid-Michigan, it's a real rare thing. There are not a lot of these fisheries around here."

Another unusual feature of Prairie Creek is its gravel bed. Most Michigan streams are sand, silt or clay, he said.

"In mid-Michigan, there is not a lot of topography, so most streams are slow," Burroughs said. "This is unique, and important to Prairie Creek and the system as a whole that fish of all types can get in and out."

Burroughs said his group learned of the problem at the dam last spring, when he was told the top part of the dam's sill came loose and was washed away, and that the old fish ladder wasn't working.

"When the piece was carried away, that lowered the water level and changed everything with fish passage," he said, adding that he discussed the problem with people at the city of Ionia, Ionia Township, the Ionia County Road Commission, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I explained we were willing to put in for a grant to modify the stream a little for a short distance down from the dam, and fill in the big hole eroding under the bridge abutment. We got everyone's blessing, and ended up getting $53,000 for the project."

Burroughs said there are several options for the project, and he hopes the public will come to the meeting to hear what his group is trying to accomplish and provide their input.

One possibility is to redesign the river 100 yards downstream or less by creating a series of step pools, which people locally have tried to do with small rocks. Instead, the pools would be fashioned using large boulders, which would make "plumes of water" for the fish to ascend, he said, with the pools deep enough water for the fish to get up and down through the pools.

"It would formalize what people have tried to do to help," he said. "It was well-intentioned, but it made the fish passage worse."

The purpose of the project is not to remove the dam, which would allow sediment to flow downstream and change the creek's slope, Burroughs noted. The project could pull out some of the dam and replace it with boulders, if there was interest.

"If we do something like that, it won't change the look of anything, but gets rid of the concrete, which is a continuing source of liability," he said. "If we get support, we can remove the concrete and add boulders, or leave it in."

Burroughs said he expects there to be people at the meeting who both support and oppose the project – he just hopes citizens will come to hear what he has in mind.

"The worst thing is not getting someone there who wants to voice an opinion," he said.

If all goes smoothly, the group will move forward with the final design and begin the permitting process, with work taking place in July and August. The DNR wants projects like this done by Oct. 1, before spawning season, he said.

"This is a great project. That river is so unique," said Burroughs. "We're excited about it, and pleased that Fish and Wildlife thought so. We hope that everyone who has a stake in it will think so, too."

Contact Burroughs with any questions at bryanburroughs@michigantu.org. Learn more about Michigan Trout Unlimited at www.michigantu.org.

Follow Karen Bota on Twitter @KarenB_ISS.

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